


Hors Neglige.

by SouthEastBookWorm



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Other, They're just friends., not really romance more like platonic friendship?, or weird puppet/puppeteer relationship thing.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 11:34:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15460476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouthEastBookWorm/pseuds/SouthEastBookWorm
Summary: "Dear Puppeteer, you have been selected to ensure an important mission goes without a hitch. Alongside your Puppet, The Batter. The two of you shall purify the Zones, purging them of their tainted beings.""But can you go through with it?"





	Hors Neglige.

Everything was pitch black...save for a few pieces of ...codeing? Little glittering white digits drift in the distance before fizzling out of existence.

You can hear lucid whispers. The lucid whispers taunt you with maddening tales, they beckon you towards what appears to be a colossal flower of some kind. Your curiosity is too strong...you come closer towards the flower. 

You are nervous of what you will find...  
The voices grow ever louder, to the point of becoming almost unbearable as you near the flower. It's petals curl a bit, as if it is aware of your presence. You draw near the flower, coming to a stop in front of it.

You decide to touch one of the petals, trailing your finger from the middle of the petal to it's tip. To your surprise the flowers petals are coarse, having a texture akin to sandpaper. It is not a pleasant experience...  
Perhaps you should remove your hand from it, deciding to wait for something to happen. But what? You don't know... Thoughts of all of the horrors that may lurk in the shadowy depths of this place put you on edge. 

The whispers only emphasize your growing dread.  
As you move your hand away, the petal hastily wraps around your wrist. It pulls you every so slowly, closer and closer to it's center.

The whispers turn to screams, but you find that they are not the only ones screaming. Panicked thoughts fill your head, you struggle to escape, but the fauna possess a staggering amount of strength.

You struggle in vain, desperate to be free.

You don't even realize your still screaming, your own screams echoing back are hidden amongst the screams of the whispers.  
It's rough texture tears at your skin, blood trickles down the petal. 

Tears well in your eyes from the pain.  
"Struggle is futile, you can't turn away from your sacred mission."

The phrase rings violently in your mind, these aren't your thoughts! Panic swells in your chest, but you don't have time to dwell on that, as you are nearing the center.

You can scarcely breathe as the once dark environment that surrounds you turns to a glaring white.  
"It's hopeless... You cannot escape us..."  
You blackout.

You awake gasping for breath, choking and coughing due to screaming your throat raw.  
You discover you're still in the same place, but with a new addition. 

There was someone else with you, a small distance away. The figure before you appears to be human, oddly wearing what seems to be a batters uniform, although that's probably the least peculiar thing about your adventure thus far...

The figure appears to be masculine, a black cap envelopes their face in shadows. He almost appears featureless... slouched forward and unmoving... You approach "him". 

A pale model all clad in black and white. "H-hello?" You rasp, your throat still immensely sore. It came out as more of a question than a greeting, how cliche...

The figure jolts violently and lunges forward, firmly gripping your injured wrist. A cry of pain escapes your lips, but before you could even start tugging away... your eyes land on his face. 

You stand aghast with what was held in your sights.  
He didn't have a face, nothing more than pale flesh with multiple peering eyes.

You stare at him silently, the pain in your wrist growing worse by the second.  
You try to pull away from him, well... emphasis on "tried", for his grip was too strong for you to break.

It feels as though he's staring through you, his gaze feels absolutely unnerving. You feel nervous under his scrutiny, grim thoughts run rampant through your mind. 

You're growing anxious, while the atmosphere grows awkward...  
Suddenly he stands straighter.

Releasing your wrist as if your touch burned, quickly placing his hands upon his face, reeling back as if in immense pain. 

He's hunched over, his face hidden from sight. His chest rapidly rises and falls, as if he's gasping for air.

Your at a loss, you don't know what to do. You can only helplessly watch him suffer. "Oh, oh no no no! Is he dying!?" You thought.  
Although you have no idea what he is, you can't just sit still and let him suffer! You're struggling to figure out a way to help him, but your mind draws blanks. 

Panic clouds your mind, you can't think clearly under pressure! "I have to do something, anything!" The only thought you have at the moment. But you're stuck, stuck watching him writhe in agony. 

Anxiety continies to twist your guts, this feeling only increases when you realize what he's doing.

He's clawing at the space where his mouth should be, tearing through an eye the process. Blood begins to pool on the floor.  
Despite this, he continues to claw at his face, pain can be seen flashing in all of his eyes.

"S-stop it! Please...you're hurting yourself!" You finally found your voice, unable to continue watching this any longer. You kneel down in front of him, trying to pry his blood riddled hands away from his face.

He tears away from your grasp with ease, stumbling backwards from you, nearly slipping on his own blood. 

It appears your words have falling upon deaf ears, as he continues to tear at his face. His efforts are growing more and more desperate.

You're attempts at trying to assist him are futile, you gave up. Watching from a distance as he tears away chunks of his flesh. Blood runs down his neck, staining his clothes a deep red. 

He has his back turned to you now, the sounds of flesh being torn overwhelm the silence.  
You squirm at the horrid sound, "D-does it hurt?"  
You wonder why you just asked such a ridiculous question, the words running off your tongue.  
You try once again to reason with him, to stop him from hurting himself.

But of course it doesn't work.  
A sudden rasping, wheezing noise noise fills your ears.  
You're left utterly bewildered. Was the sound... coming from him? You stay where you are, observing him from a distance.

He shakily moves his hands away from his face, now your certain the breathing sounds are coming from him.  
You're momentarily stunned, where once was an eye is now a bleeding mouth. He's taking quick shallow breaths, his remaining eyes gazing warily at you.

You slowly came closer to him, examining the fresh gashes on his face. His face covered in gashes, the blood dribbling past his chin.

He continues to gaze forward, as if unaware that you've gotten closer. His eyes are clouded over with pain...  
You sit down in front of him, bringing your hands to his face.

You held his face gently, examining what was sure to form future scars. You sigh, "What am I gonna do with you?" speaking your thoughts out loud.

He flinches back violently, a sharp gasp escapes him. It's was as if he hadn't expected such a gentle touch. Or perhaps it was the sound of your voice that had startled him? You swiftly pull your hands back to yourself, afraid that you may cause more harm.

"So...what's your name?" You ask nervously. You silently wonder if this was a bad time to ask questions. But you don't have any better ideas. Everything you have experienced so far seems to be more like a living nightmare, leaving you without a clue as on how to react.

You receive no reply other than harsh wheezing.

His eyes narrow as he looks down, trying to concentrate and formulate an answer of some kind.  
You patiently wait, taking the time to look through your pockets for something that can wipe off the blood on his face.

His clothes can't be cleaned though, drenched with blood.  
You pluck a small handkerchief out of your pocket, it's not much but it will have to do. You hand it over to him.

He shakily reaches for the handkerchief, proceeding to wipe his face in an attempt to clean himself. The fabric squelches against his skin, sopping with blood.

Once he has removed most of it from his face, he pauses, "B..... Ba-ACK" in his attempt to speak, he is now suffering a violent coughing fit. 

Flecks of blood come from his mouth, speckling the ground. He's on his knees, one of his arms around his ribs, the other on the floor supporting him.

You're surprised, to say the least, by the sudden coughing fit. You move to his side to help, trying to move his arms out of the way to check for injuries. You start to lift his shirt to check. He is struggling against your attempts at helping him, only increasing his agony. 

He is panting now, his struggles against you have weakened. It seems he has decided to stop moving altogether.

You worry you've just made matters worse, choosing to release him and take a few steps back to give him some space. You think it might be better if you stopped trying to help, and stay away.

He's observing his surroundings, as if looking for something. He shifts his weight and moves to sit down, his breathing slowly returning to normal. He moves to tend to himself, working on cleaning up the fresh blood.

His face appears to have formed a nose during his coughing fit. You can't help but notice it. It's odd to see it surrounded by eyes...or gashes of what used to be eyes...

You're relieved that he seems to be getting better, although you don't know why. You don't know who, let alone what he is... You push these thoughts aside. From what you have observed, it's best to let him take care of himself. 

You only seem to cause more harm, feeling a bit guilty about what you've done.

While he's patting his face clean with the handkerchief, something odd happens... The torn flesh peels away, revealing pale unharmed skin underneath. It was as if none of what you had witnessed ever happened...

You stare from afar, 'Now what to do?' you wonder. You look around, trying to find a way out while simultaneously avoiding the figure.  
The four remaining eyes suddenly cease staring forward, his head snaps over to your direction. He turned his head so quickly, you swore your heard his neck crack. 

He has gone stock still, his gaze lingers on you.  
You stare back, wondering wether or not you should go back. You walk a little closer to him, warily asking him "What is your name?"  
He opens his mouth, "I...I am the Batter." He answers.

'The Batter'? Not exactly a name, but it's something.

"You will see...and you shall know when the time comes...For this...is your sacred mission..."  
The whispers grow fainter, they seem to have died down somewhat... for now...

Suddenly The Batter rises, stumbling slightly on unsteady legs. He walks past you, his steps becoming steadier as he walks towards a rather large, red spot you somehow haven't noticed on the ground.

You decided to trust the mysterious voice in your head, and follow the batter. You see that he's standing atop a red spot that looks like a...oh...it's another one of those flowers....  
"Is that it?," you asked him.

The Batter kneels down in the center of the flower, it's petals twitching in apprehension.  
Not another one of these, fear flows into your veins. But you dare not move. You stand there as he fiddles with the weird flower.

Suddenly, the flowers petals convulse violently, twisting and twitching every which way. They abruptly halt, gently sagging against the ground.

The Batter stands, and slowly turns towards you. You fidget, uncertain if he is expecting you to do something. You choose to move closer to the flower.

That's when you notice it, your mind couldn't comprehend what you were seeing at first...  
He appeared to be growing shorter? No, he was sinking!  
The ruby red of the flowers center had grown darker in color, more of the luscious red liquid began to seep out of the center of the flower.

Judging by his lack of a reaction, you're starting to believe that this is a normal everyday occurrence to him... You decide to follow after him, stepping into the rising puddle.  
He stands eerily calm, sinking further into the red. 

The red liquid is now lapping at your shoes.  
Trying to stay calm you hummed a quiet tune.  
The petals that had lied somewhat forgotten now began to rise, closing around the two of you.  
(The inside of the flower is roughly the size of an elevator.)

It is somehow darker inside the flower, this allows you to observe how oddly luminescent The Batters eyes are. They give off a soft red light.  
Speaking of red, the red liquid rises some more, it is at your ankles.  
The atmosphere is quiet save for your continuous humming, and gentle splashing.  
You take a moment to think and realize your name is missing. 

You can't recall what it was...  
You distract yourself from this with thoughts about the batter's eyes, they could certainly be an interesting conversation topic!

You feel the liquid rise slowly. It feels thicker than it first appeared, it's almost like blood... You do not like where your thoughts are taking you. The Batter remains unperturbed by this, his gaze set forward, his breaths are slow and even. 

The liquid has risen to the middle of your shins.  
You decide to ask where he came from, to alleviate the silence. Of course, you receive no response. Maybe he doesn't know?

Ignoring the liquid as best as you could, you thought of asking him another reoccurring question.. If he knew what your name is. Though it may be a strange question, you wonder if he knows.  
His eyes narrow, he is somewhat facing your general direction. "You are (instert horrifically loud static) , The Puppeteer."

You flinch, clasping your hands to the sides of your head, the ungodly noise causes your ears to ring. You are entirely uncertain of how he produced such a noise.  
"Uhm.. Okay?," you replied.  
'Puppeteer'?  
Oh right, he's supposed to be a puppet! "Am I supposed to tell you what to do?," you asked him again.

Your ears are still ringing slightly after hearing the static. You think your ears might be bleeding. You are reminded that the liquid is still there, it sloshes around you at thigh height.  
"You will lead and aid me in my mission." He replies gruffly.  
"By telling you what to do?," it came out more of a question than a statement.

He doesn't answer again but, his answer was good enough. You decided to be slightly more optimistic from now on, though you can't promise it. 

You hope that this would be a fun adventure, as well as internally debate if there's a way to go home.  
You are now waist deep in the thick red liquid. It gently sloshes against you and The Batter. The liquid begins to rise at a quicker pace, "Hold your breath," the batter commands. You quickly hold your breath. More of the crimson liquid rushes in, the flower is now filled and you both are submerged in the viscous substance.

You don't know if you can hold your breath any longer. You need to breath but, you're completely submerged... You struggle to hold on, but you ultimately fail.  
You can't take this, fear has overcome your mind as you watch the bubbles that expelled from your lungs float away.

You turn to The Batter, only to find him unmoving, his eyes closed. You try to stay calm, soon however, you're panicking again. The way he almost seems so peaceful... like a corpse underwater, disturbs you. 

A stark reminder of what will happen to you if you do not try to survive.  
You're running out of time, a bit of the liquid makes it's way into your mouth. It taste metallic... the liquid, you realize that it really is Blood!  
You struggle desperately, fighting inside this scarlett prison. You feel woozy.  
The blood... it tastes sweet? It's begun to taste oddly sweet and a bit sour. 

This thought doesn't fully register as you are more focused on the fact that you are drowning!  
The thick warm substance fills your lungs, blinding spots of white begin to overrun the deep crimson that fills your vision.

Your previous feeble struggles grow even weaker, a fierce pain begins to grow in the back of your skull. Your limbs have grown numb from the ceaseless movements. Your mind going blank and your vision failing, you can feel your body shutting down. 

With what little vision you do still have, you cannot even see The Batter anymore. All is gone. And you are alone.

"Leave me together, everything's together."

 

End chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Me and a fwiend are writing this, they don't have an account tho. ;^ ;
> 
> Dec 26 2018:  
> And we aint adding a new chapter sowwy.


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